1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for storage, retrieval and loading/unloading of units of a data storage medium, and particularly to a method and apparatus for storage, retrieval and loading/unloading of cartridges of a data storage medium, such as magnetic tape cartridges.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data storage, such as for data backup on computer systems and networks, requires large storage capacities. Many such data backup systems use cartridges, such as magnetic tape cartridges for the data storage medium. Such magnetic tape data cartridges must be loaded and unloaded from read/write devices, also referred to as tape drives. It is known to provided automated loading and unloading and storage of the data cartridges in data backup systems using robotic cartridge handling devices. Such automated loading and unloading systems can be complex and costly.
It is very important that data storage and data retrieval systems having cartridge loading/unloading devices provide a simple and low cost solution. The low cost must not be achieved while sacrificing ease of use or a user friendly operator interface.